Weapon of Choice
by Element Of One
Summary: Following the events in the episode, "The Test," the gems decide to take Steven on a light mission to build his confidence. Garnet gets the idea to make Steven feel more secure by shape shifting into a helmet (Garnet), and body armor (Amethyst). However, Pearl is reluctant to shape shift into something for Steven, but she does it anyway. In doing so, Amethyst gets under her skin...


**Weapon of Choice**

**By Element of One**

"_This looks like an easy mission for you Steven,"_ Garnet said as she stepped off the warp and was staring at the gem creature that was now in front of her. _"I don't know about this!" _Pearl exclaimed uneasily as she too stepped off the warp pad. Then she insisted, _"We should probably wound it first before we let Steven try to do anything." _Amethyst leaped off the warp pad and jumped into the conversation, _"Oh come on Pearl! Steven will be fine! Besides we're all here in case anything goes wrong!"_

Steven was hiding behind Garnet's leg, when he peered over to take a glance at the creature in front of him, then he said, _"I don't know guys, are you sure about this!? This looks kind of dangerous!" _Garnet looked down at him with a smile on her face, she rubbed her hand through his hair and said, _"Don't be afraid Steven, we're right here. Concentrate and summon your shield. I know you can do it."_ Steven looked up, then smiled back at her. He then began to concentrate and suddenly, his shield had appeared.

When the gems saw this, they then began to praise him and encourage him further. _"Alright Steven! Good Job!"_ Pearl exclaimed, as she was clapping her hands and was looking down at him as he was holding his shield. Steven stepped forward with the shield in hand and said, _"Awww, look at how cute this creature is! He doesn't look mean at all. Do we have to fight him?"_ All four were staring at the creature and noticed that it had the appearance of a tortoise, but instead of having a shell however, it had diamonds all along its back and sapphire gemstones for eyes. _"Be careful Steven. It may look cute but remember it's corrupted," _Garnet responded as she watched Steven inch his way closer to the creature.

Then, without warning, the creature stood up on its hind legs and began growling at Steven. Steven dropped his shield, as he ran and hid behind Garnet's leg once more. Amethyst fell to the ground and was laughing as she said, _"Oh come on Steven, that thing is little! Besides, it's not as ugly as Pearl, so what is there to be afraid of!?"_ Pearl snared at Amethyst's comment, and while staring at the creature she summoned her spear, then said, _"I don't like this! He's not ready yet! He needs more time!"_ Pearl was about to lunge towards the creature, but before she could do anything, Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder and said, _"No, Steven's going to handle this one. We're right here, nothing bad is going to happen to him."_

Pearl stared at Garnet and knew that she was serious. _"Fine,"_ she exclaimed reluctantly as her spear began to disappear. She then picked up Steven's shield, walked over towards him, and said, _"Don't be afraid Steven! We're right here! Nothing is going to happen to you!"_ And as she handed him his shield, she placed both of her hands on his shoulders then said, _"If you feel like you can't do it, all you have to do is let us know. We won't make you do anything that you don't want to do."_ There was silence, but then Garnet chimed in and said, _"No, he can do it. This is the only way he's going to learn. Let him be Pearl."_ Pearl sighed as she heard her teammate's remarks. She was staring back at Garnet with a look of disapproval, when suddenly Amethyst shouted, _"Oooh you got owned Pearl! Shut down by the G-squad! Looks like we all know who the boss is!"_ Pearl snapped back, _"Be quiet Amethyst! I'll deal with you later! Steven doesn't need this right now! I don't either, so why don't you just shut please…..!"_

Garnet broke through the bickering, as she looked down at Steven and asked, _"What would make you feel better about this Steven?" _He thought for a minute, then said, _"Could I have some protection? Maybe an extra shield or something?"_ Garnet became quiet, as she was thinking to herself, then she came up with an idea. She looked over at Amethyst and asked, _"Can you shape shift into body armor for Steven?" _Amethyst responded, _"No problem! It would be my pleasure!"_ She then shape shifted, and almost immediately purple armor was now covering Stevens's torso.

Garnet squatted down and was now eye level with Steven, when she smiled and asked, _"Are you feeling more secure now Steven?"_ Steven's eyes lit up, as he felt the purple armor that was now on his chest, then said, _"Yes! Thank you guys! This is so awesome! But do you think I could also have a helmet? Or something to cover my head?" _Garnet responded, _"No problem,"_ Then, she too began to shape shift and was now a helmet sitting at the top of Steven's head. Steven was ecstatic as he felt the spikes all along the base of the helmet, when he looked over at Pearl and asked, _"How do I look Pearl!? Do I look cool!? I feel indestructible!"_ Pearl glanced him over then responded, _"Well, you look different Steven…."_

Garnet also responded from the top of Steven's head, _"But he's also protected, and that's what matters most."_ While he was standing there, Steven smiled as he was holding his shield and could feel the armor on his chest, when he asked Pearl,_ "Do you think I could have a weapon, Pearl? Like a sword or something?"_ She smiled as she summoned a spear from her gemstone and tossed it over towards Steven. He let the spear hit the ground, he looked down at it and said, _"Not a spear, a sword. The spear is too awkward for me to handle." _Pearl looked at him and responded, _"Oh, well I don't have a sword Steven. This was going to be a light mission, so I didn't bring any extra weapons with me."_

There was silence, as Garnet smiled at her, then said, _"Well Pearl, you know what that means. Shapeshift and give him a sword." _Pearl's eyes grew wide with shock, as she stared at her, then protested, _"Absolutely not! I will not turn myself into a weapon for Steven! It wasn't my idea for him to come on this mission anyway!_ _Besides, I don't want him fighting that creature, he could still get hurt!"_ Garnet became angry, as she stared back at Pearl and said, _"It doesn't matter what you want, we're doing this for Steven!" _

Pearl had a worrisome look on her face, as she stared into his eyes and said_, "Steven, you don't really want me to do this!? Please tell me that you're not going to make me do this!?"_ Before Steven could answer, Garnet chimed in once more and said, _"He's not making you do anything, I am."_ When she heard Garnet's words, Pearl turned away from them with her arms folded, then Steven whispered, _"Please Pearl! Just this once!" _She sighed for a moment, then turned back to face him and was blue in her face as she said, _"Fine Steven! But the minute you don't follow my commands, I'm shapeshifting back and we're never doing this again!"_ Steven hugged her and said, _"Thank you Pearl!"_ She stepped back, and Steven observed as the spear on the floor began to disappear. Pearl's body began to glow bright, then she began to shapeshift.

Steven watched, as a solid white sword was now sticking out from the ground where Pearl was previously standing. He walked over, then observed how the handle had Pearl's gemstone on it, and the blade was encrusted with white rhinestones all along it's face. _"Wow Pearl! This is amazing!"_ Steven said as he gripped the handle and pulled the sword out of the ground. He became excited and began swinging the word erratically, as Pearl shouted, _"Be careful Steven! Please! I don't want to be the reason as to why you hurt yourself!"_ When he heard her words, he immediately stopped and said, _"Oh, I'm sorry Pearl. My mistake."_ Amethyst laughed and said, _"Hey Steven! Don't be afraid to just throw the sword at the creature!"_ Pearl snapped back, _"Amethyst! Steven, no! Don't listen to her! She doesn't know what she's talking about! You make sure you keep a firm grip at all times!"_

"_Be quiet, both of you!"_ Garnet yelled. _"Steven are you ready to start your mission?"_ He took in a deep breath, then replied, _"Yes, I'm ready Garnet." _Then she responded, _"Alright, remember we're right here with you. Don't be afraid. Just concentrate and focus on the task at hand."_ With that, Steven began marching towards the creature, and by now it was back on all four legs eating leaves from a plant. The creature's jaw dropped, as it watched how Steven drew near. It looked up at him and observed how he was now carrying new weaponry. Steven was bigger and more massive with his body armor on, and he looked more intimidating with a sword and shield in his hands. The creature was in shock, when suddenly there was a blast of smoke and once it cleared, all that remained was a gemstone that was now lying on the ground where the creature used to be.

"_Wow! I did it you guys!" _Steven exclaimed happily._ "I didn't even have to fight! We should go on missions like this more often!"_ Garnet replied, _"Missions won't always be this easy Steven. We chose a mission that we knew you would feel comfortable doing. Maybe now you'll feel more confident when you're with us?" _Steven replied, _"Thanks Garnet, thank you guys for doing this!"_ There was silence as Steven stood there with his gear on, when suddenly Amethyst shouted, _"Hey Steven, why don't you throw a boomerang blade, just like Lonely Blade does!"_ Steven's eyes lit up as he responded, _"Oh, cool! I didn't even think of that! Watch this guys!"_

"_NO STEVEN!"_ Pearl screamed. But before she could say anything else, Steven threw her and watched as the sword began spinning through the air. Observing this, Amethyst and Garnet both shape shifted, then removed themselves from Steven's body. Amethyst laughed as Garnet stood there and sighed, then she said, _"Go get Pearl! Now Steven!"_ Steven immediately knew that Garnet was upset with him, so he ran off into the direction that he threw Pearl and began calling out to her. When he finally found her, he saw that she was still in her sword form and was now lodged into the bark of a tree. Steven walked up to her and said, _"I'm sorry Pearl, hold on,"_ as he reached for the sword. He placed both of his hands on the handle, and began tugging on it, to remove it from the tree.

"_Ouch! Watch it Steven! Be gentle!"_ Pearl exclaimed. _"Why do you have to listen to everything that Amethyst says? You know she just does it to get underneath my skin!"_ _"I'm sorry Pearl,"_ he responded. _"I just wanted to see if I could throw it, I mean you, like Lonely Blade."_ Pearl let out a sigh then said, _"I told you Steven, that's not real sword fighting. There's no move in fencing called the boomerang blade! I forgive you, now hurry up and get me out of this tree so we can go home."_ With that, Steven continued his tugging, but before long, Pearl chimed in once more and said, _"Gently Steven! I told you to be gentle!"_

Amethyst and Garnet were now walking towards him, as they could see Steven pulling on the sword. With one final tug, Steven pulled the sword out of the tree, then Pearl let out a loud gasp. Steven held the sword in the air as Pearl said, _"Alright Steven, now I want you to gently put me….." _But before she could finish her sentence, Amethyst shouted, _"Hey Steven! Where does Lonely Blade put his sword when he's done using it!?" _Steven thought for a moment then responded, _"Normally in his sheath. But if he doesn't have that, he puts it in his pants, why?"_ Amethyst got closer and had a grin on her face as she shouted back at him, _"Right! So put your sword away Lonely Blade! Mission accomplished!"_ Steven nodded his head, as he began pulling at his waist band, then stuck the sword down his pants.

Pearl let out a scream, and began shouting, _"Wait! Steven! No! Don't you dare put me down your…" _but her protests turned into muffles as the sword was now down Stevens pant leg. Amethyst fell over and was exploding with laughter, when Garnet shook her head and commanded, _"Steven! Get Pearl out of your pants! Now!"_ Steven slowly removed the sword from his pant leg, and immediately saw that Garnet was now standing in front of him with her arms folded. She quietly said, _"Give me the sword Steven."_ He handed it over to her, as Garnet began examining her teammate, then finally said, _"Are you okay Pearl?"_ Pearl shape shifted back into her normal self, and her eyes were wide with shock as she snapped at Garnet in an angry voice, _"Next time you get to be the sword!"_

Amethyst was now standing next Garnet, and on the other side, was Pearl. Pearl reached over to try to grab Amethyst, but Garnet split the two of them up. Steven looked at all three and said, _"Come on guys! Don't fight! I had fun today! This was an easy mission!"_ Then Pearl responded, _"This wasn't meant to be fun Steven! It was meant to be educational! But Amethyst made sure that wouldn't happen!"_ Amethyst let out a sigh and asked, _"What was the favorite part of your new gear Steven? Did you like the helmet, the body armor, or the sword?"_ Then he responded, _"The sword! It by far was the coolest! Forget the shield! Can you do that again sometime Pearl?"_ She looked down at Steven, with her arms folded and quickly said, _"No! Never again Steven! I don't think you know what you're doing! Apparently you have trouble following basic instructions!"_

_"I think you lack maturity!"_

Her words stung, as Steven looked back at her with tears in his eyes. He then shrugged his shoulders and began walking back towards the warp pad. Garnet glared over at Pearl, as Pearl looked back at her and asked, _"What!? Why are you staring at me like that!? You know I'm right. He needs to learn that he can't continue to behave this way."_ Then Garnet responded, _"Steven looks up to you, he looks up to all of us. I don't condone what Steven did, but he's just a kid. Amethyst and I are going to have a talk when we get back to the temple. Rest assure she will not go unpunished for her actions."_ Garnet glared down at Amethyst, then looked back at Pearl and continued, _"If turning into a sword is going to make Steven feel more secure when he goes on a mission, then just do it."_ Then Pearl protested, _"Why do I have to be the one to shape shift into a sword!?"_

"_Because he asked you,"_ Garnet exclaimed. _"He didn't ask me, and he didn't ask Amethyst. We both know that if I turned myself into a sword, Steven would not be able to lift me. If Amethyst did it, she herself would be too erratic and it would defeat the purpose. The point of this exercise was to build Steven's confidence, and I'm willing to do whatever's necessary to accomplish that. Are you willing to do that Pearl?"_

"_What? Of course I am!"_ Pearl responded angrily, then Garnet followed, _"Then go talk to him, make it right. And for future reference, if you don't want to be a sword again then I suggest you bring an extra one with you next time."_ Pearl looked back at Garnet angrily, as she headed towards the warp pad and saw Steven standing there with his arms folded. _"Are you guys ready to go yet?"_ he asked, as he stood there with his head turned away from her. Pearl crouched down beside Steven, placed her hand on his shoulder and asked, _"Can we talk please?"_

Steven turned to face her and said in a quiet voice, _"What is it Pearl? What do you want to talk about?"_ Pearl looked at him and said, _"I'm sorry for getting angry at you Steven. That was a very uncomfortable experience for me, but I think I may have overreacted."_ Steven looked back at her and began to smile a little, then said, _"Thank you for doing it though. I did feel better knowing that all three of you guys were with me, in case something did go wrong."_ Pearl responded, _"Steven, we've always been right here with you. We've never been separated each other."_

"_But it's not the same,"_ Steven replied. _"I felt protected when you guys were a part of me. It was like we were all as one. Amethyst was protecting my body, Garnet was protecting my head, and you were my weapon. I felt like I was doing something on my own, but you guys were still with me."_ Pearl smiled when she heard Steven's words, then asked, _"How about when we go on our next mission, I'll make sure I'm prepared. I'll I just bring one of my extra swords with me, so we don't have to go through something like this again! Is that Okay?"_ Steven looked down at the floor, and began shaking his head in disapproval. Pearl took in a deep breath, then exhaled and said softly, _"Fine Steven. But you have to promise me that you won't listen to Amethyst. You need to learn how to handle a sword, and how to use the proper technique, which is something that I'll teach you as we go along. Remember Steven, my life is in your hands when I'm in that form." _Steven replied_, "Or we could all just fuse together, the four of us!" _Pearl eyes became big as she replied, _"No! No! I'll just stick to being a sword for a little while! Fusion is a whole other concept that requires extensive knowledge and training. "_

Steven hugged her, then said, _"Thank you Pearl! I would never hurt you!" She _smiled for a moment, then he continued,_ "As long as I had my sword and my shield in hand, I knew I could've easily defeated that corrupt turtle monster!" _The two of them continued to embrace, and waited as they were met by Garnet and Amethyst, who were both standing on the warp pad. Amethyst watched as they were hugging and said, _"Hey Steven, I have an idea. Why don't you just use your mother's sword from now on? It's bigger, and it matches your shield."_ Steven stepped back from Pearl's embrace and said, _"Oh yeah, you're right! I almost forgot! Never mind Pearl, I have a sword! Thanks for reminding me Amethyst!"_

Pearl looked back at Amethyst with tears in her eyes, as she felt like her heart had just been ripped out, then Amethyst jokingly said_, "Steven, you might want to clean your other sword! She's starting to rust!"_ Suddenly, Garnet had enough. She summoned her gauntlet and pounded Amethyst on top of her head, then watched as she fell to the ground. Amethyst looked up at her, while holding her head and asked, _"What was that for!?" _Then Garnet responded, _"I don't know, I just felt like it I guess."_ Steven ran and jumped into Pearl's arms, then he wiped the tears from her eyes, as he said_, "I can always use two swords."_ Pearl's heart melted as she said, "_Let's go Steven. When we get home, we can watch lonely blade and I'll make some popcorn!"_

_**The Temple**_

A beam of light came down upon the warp, then disappeared, as the crystal gems were now standing their living room. Steven immediately ran off the warp pad, into the living room, and saw that lion was sitting on the couch with something in his mouth. _"No Lion!"_ Steven shouted, as he pulled on the object. _"He's chewing my mother's sword!"_ Steven eventually retrieved the sword and now saw that the blade had been completely bitten in half. _"Why Lion! Why did you have to do that!?"_ Steven cried.

Observing this, Pearl's eyes lit up as she said out loud to herself, _"Well! It looks like Steven just has one sword after all!"_ Amethyst chimed in and said, _"You're actually excited about being Steven's new sword!?"_ Pearl repeated Garnet's earlier conversation, as she said to Amethyst, _"Well, unlike you Amethyst, I'm willing to do whatever's necessary to make Steven happy and feel secure._ _Are you willing to do that? I highly doubt it!" _After she heard her remarks, Amethyst shrugged her shoulders and said, _"I don't know, probably not"_ as she walked off towards the kitchen. Garnet placed her hand on Pearl's shoulder and said, _"Nice work, good job making Steven happy."_ Then she too stepped off the warp pad and headed into her room.

Pearl was left standing on the warp pad, as she began to walk towards Steven, and saw that he was holding his mother's broken sword. She crouched down beside him and asked, _"Are you going to be okay Steven?"_ He looked up at her and asked_, "Can you fix it Pearl!? Please! It's one of the few things I have left of my Mom!"_ Pearl took the sword from his hands, observed it, then said, _"Yes Steven, I can. But it will take some time."_ Steven watched as the broken sword began floating in the air, then slowly disappeared into Pearl's gemstone. _"But until then, I have the next best thing for you Steven,"_ Pearl exclaimed.

She shape shifted, as she turned herself back into a sword, and was placed in Steven's arms. He held her close, with tears flowing down his eyes and said, _"Thank you Pearl! Thank you for doing that!" _She replied, _"You're welcome Steven!" _He held the sword in the air, and began swinging it in all different directions before finally striking a pose. Amethyst walked up to him from the kitchen and asked, _"Hey Lonely Blade, when you're done having fun with your sword, would you mind cutting this watermelon for me?" _Steven raised the sword over his head and said, _"No problem Amethyst! Watch this! Throw the watermelon in the air!"_ Amethyst tossed the watermelon in the air, and as she did, Pearl screamed, _"No Steven! Remember what I said about listening to Amethyst!….."_

But it was too late, as Steven now brought the blade down, and proceeded to cut the watermelon in half, in one motion. Amethyst caught both halves of the watermelon and said, _"Thanks Steven! You're the best!"_ Pearl quickly shape shifted, and was now standing covered with the juices of the watermelon all over her face and body. Steven was behind Pearl, and had his arms still wrapped around her waist, when she immediately began chasing after Amethyst, with him still holding on.

Amethyst laughed, as she was running away from Pearl, then she shouted_, "Now you kind of look like Roses sword! But we still might need a few more watermelons!"_

Then Pearl shouted back, _"You won't have to worry about any bruises!_

_"You're already purple!"_


End file.
